Bellaire attorney joins race for the 105th House district

April 12, 2004|BY FRED GRAY NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER

Kevin Elsenheimer, a 38-year-old municipal attorney from Bellaire, today announced his candidacy for the 105th district state House seat currently held by the Ken Bradstreet, the term-limited conservative Republican from Gaylord.

The race for the strongly Republican district, which takes in all of Charlevoix, Antrim and Otsego counties, and most of Cheboygan County, may be the most closely watched in the state, with many eyes on Charlevoix businessman John Ramsey, the father of slain child beauty queen JonBenet.

Ramsey, 60, drew national attention when he announced his strong interest in the seat at a state chamber of commerce meeting in Lansing last month.

Confirmed candidates for the seat in the Aug. 3 Republican primary include dental hygienist Bonnie Nothoff of Kewadin and Otsego County commissioner Jeff Garfield. Bradstreet's legislative aide, Craig Ryan, is expected to announce his candidacy for the seat later this month.

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In an interview with the News-Review on Saturday, Elsenheimer, a lifelong resident of Northern Michigan, said he is confident his 11 years as a municipal attorney representing governmental units throughout the district have earned him a solid reputation among local leaders that will give him an edge.

"Frankly, as compared to the rest of the candidates, I'm better known because of my work," he said.

Elsenheimer said that if elected, he would be the only municipal attorney in the state legislature, where contrary to public perception just 20 of the 148 members of the House and Senate are lawyers.

He said his knowledge of how local government works would give him a unique insight into where and how money is spent, or misspent.

"There's money that's being misspent in Lansing. There just has to be. It's just a function of government that unfortunately there's going to be a certain amount of waste, and you've got to be able to target it," he said.

"I will work to restrict the growth of state government. I believe that government is better and more responsive when it is local."

He also touted his real-world experience in areas where state government has a role, like education, law enforcement and land-use.

Elsenheimer said that if elected, he would continue to work part-time as a Bellaire attorney while maintaining a full-time staff, primarily for constituency work, in Lansing.

"I think that you can do this job and do it well, and still maintain a career. I'd like to show people that that's possible. If former state Sen. (Joe) Schwarz was able to perform surgeries while being the pro-tem of the Senate, there's no reason I can't draft some wills and land contracts," Elsenheimer said.

"I think we need to move toward a situation when we, as representatives, are actually in the communities which we represent rather than living in Lansing. So I don't intend to move."

On the issues

"I am a pro-life, pro-gun and pro-school-choice candidate who will work in Lansing to protect our way of life," he said, adding that he favors continuation of the state merit scholarship fund as "an investment in our children's future."

Elsenheimer said he is closely attuned to the thinking of Bradstreet, who has been characterized as the most conservative legislator in the state House. But Elsenheimer said he, in contrast to Bradstreet, believes government has a role in land-use planning and zoning.

"Of course, I make my living representing communities that zone. But that doesn't mean that I'm so pro-zoning that I think that every community I represent necessarily is doing it right, either," he said.

Term limits

Elsenheimer said term limits mean a legislator has to be bold.

"You only have six years. That might be a lot of time in the real world, but in Lansing, it's a drop in the bucket. So you've got a limited amount of time in which to take action to make whatever change you think is necessary, or appropriate," he said.

"It also empowers the bureaucracy, because they're the ones who have the institutional memory, which I surmise is one of the reasons you're seeing so many people in the bureaucracy in Lansing moving up into the districts to run as legislators."

Elsenheimer said he would favor extending term limits to 12 years, if that meant the Legislature would become part-time, with full-time constituent services.

"If you knew going in that you had a limited amount of time in which to accomplish the state's objectives - the budget, the law enforcement issues, all the issues that need to be dealt with - that might put pressure on Lansing to focus on the more important issues," he said.

Roads and road taxes

Elsenheimer represents two of the four road commissions in the district and says he knows road issues well.

"We have real infrastructure problems. A lot of roads need to be repaired and updated. It's tough to maintain roads in Northern Michigan especially," he said.

He said he doesn't support an increase in the gas or diesel tax to address road problems.